With the advent of low profile hoods on motor vehicles, the open spaces within the engine compartment have become increasingly less to the point where it is often difficult to provide proper connections because of the restricted access. For example, as shown in the drawing labeled "Prior Art," a typical known connection between a carburetor throttle lever and and the vehicle accelerator pedal has been of the ball stud and socket type. The latter installation requires a minimum vertical space of at least 24 mm to permit insertion of the installer's fingers or other equipment for assembly of the ball socket to the stud.
As stated previously, the designs as they are evolving today are reducing the available clearance to provide, inter alia, compactness to the engine compartment of the vehicle. Accordingly, alternative constructions, such as that of the invention to be described, must be provided. This invention minimizes the problem by providing for assembly of the components described with approximately little more than half of the minimum clearance space required for the devices of the prior art.
The invention is directed specifically to a self-locking connector construction that requires a minimum vertical clearance space for assembly, and yet provides for an easy installation with a simplicity of parts. More specifically, it includes a nailhead-like pin secured to one of the two members to be connected, the other member being provided with a keyhole-like slot connector for receiving the pin. The latter member includes a slidable retainer that is spring biased to normally cover the keyhole slot but which can be retracted to permit the through passage of the pin. The pin is subsequently moved by the retainer into the smaller of the two openings of the keyhole slot and the two members are locked together by the retainer moving to a position preventing release of the pin from the hole.
The known prior art in general fails to show or describe the simplified self-locking connector of this invention. The prior art includes various features that are somewhat related in that they are used in some cases for connecting the throttle valve of a motor vehicle to another member or a transmission member, or show a locking device; however, the prior art lacks the simplified teaching and details of construction and operation of the self-locking device according to the invention.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,705, Frankhouse et al., shows merely a Push/pull snap-on type connector of a ball and socket for use with an engine throttle lever or a transmission lever. This is similar to the prior art previously described and shown herein and consists of a ball peen type end of a movable lever snapped into a retainer for a pivotal non-linear movement relative to it.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,881, Conrad, shows a common eyelet end type of connector 118 having a hole 119. It also shows a coiled biasing spring 56. The device retains a cylindrical member inside a sleeve with a small neck portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,367, Spease, is another illustration of an arcuately movable member with a hole in the end of the connector for operating a cruise control. A lost motion inkage ball-like member retained in a sleeve is provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,845, Suzuki, illustrates a locking type connector in which a flat sided cable conduit sleeve 11 with screw threads engages a rotatably movable sleeve 12. Once engaged, the member 13 prevents rotation of sleeve 12 and, therefore, the shaft 11, and fixes the position of anchor 3. The prior art in FIG. 10, a resilient finger-type retainer, has an outer tooth member cooperating with a retainer 59 with mating teeth.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,277, Gilmore, again shows an eyelet type connector having a compression spring, 12, biasing the connector 3 outwardly, but permitting inward movement by means of the pin 11 moving the member 6 to which the cable is attached. In this case, the push/pull control is for operating the hood release lever of a motor vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,251, Niskanen, shows a ball and swivel socket section and a flexible finger-type socket attaching assembly. It shows interlocking tabs 30 and apertures 34 in a vibration isolation mechanism that permits disassembly of the device during relative longitudinal or axial movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,031, Webb, again shows an eyelet type connector having a locking mechanism with flexible fingers; the fingers are angled to dig into the member sleeve 20 in one direction of movement and to thereby normally lock it against movement in that direction.
As will be evident, the prior art is directed more to the construction, per se, of the individual members to be connected rather than the specific connection of the end of one lever to another in a self-locking manner to Permit pivotal movement between the two while preventing separation therebetween.